The Army Times is reporting that the 3rd division’s 1st Brigade Combat Team will be on call for domestic missions as part of Northern Command. From the training mentioned in the Army Times article, it sounds like the unit is preparing for a role as a police force in the event of another major disaster, like Hurricane Katrina. Since the end of reconstruction after the Civil War, it has been illegal under US law to use federal military forces on US soil. The Military Commissions Act repealed this protection, and now the President can authorize active duty forces to patrol the streets of America, whenever he deems it necessary.

Why it would be necessary to use active duty military personnel in the United States is not addressed in the Army Times article, and it troubles me to say the least. Governors in individual states can already activate the National Guard and State Guard, not to mention the fact that civilians and emergency personnel can handle all but the most critical emergencies without the assistance of armed forces. The unit in question also happens to be a combat unit, not a logistics or transport outfit.

It sounds crazy to say, but it looks like this unit is on standby to act as a federal occupation force. State militias and more recently the semi-federal National Guard have historically been effective in putting down armed rebellion when it has been necessary, but I suspect that the expanding police state has some in Washington questioning whether these state forces can be counted on to act against their neighbors on the orders of the federal government. I never thought I’d be saying something like that, but then again, I never actually believed that the US Army would have units assigned to patrol American streets. It’s getting ugly out there.